They were back in the array room in no time, rested and watered and fed, as well as bathed, having taken advantage of the massive tub in the bathroom of their suite. They signaled they were ready for the start of stage eighteen, and made their way to the Warder to wait. When they were given the signal, they leapt through the portal and experienced that brief moment of disorientation.

When they were aware of their surroundings again after a moment, they found themselves in a large hall of some kind. They were well used to such things at this point, immediately identifying it as a training hall, with weapons and armor scattered around the room, as well as a group of raised stages in the center that had all the accoutrements they had come to be used to. There were two women standing in the hall in front of them, one a being that had four strange wings of some kind of black substance that looked almost like obsidian and were covered with golden feathers stretching from her back, while the other had some striking similarities with Blood, including her blood-colored fur. The woman with the wings was wearing plate armor, though Beth saw no weapon on her, while the Blood-lookalike wore heavy leathers and had clawed weapons on her fists.

"Welcome," the winged woman said in a deeply mellifluous voice. "I am Sanna, and this is Bella. We're here to test your skills."

"And what exactly does that mean?" Beth asked as soon as it was clear Sanna was finished speaking.

"For this challenge, your goal is to survive a five-minute-long round of combat against us on the training stage. These will be individual challenges, so what one of you does will not affect the other's challenge. You have the full forty-eight hours to battle us, and must endure a five minute round before the end of that time," Sanna replied, with Bella simply nodding along.

"And are you limited in any way? It seems like this is a little lopsided," Blood quipped with a toothy grin.

"We are here partially to train you and partially to test you. Our skills are superior, but it is not unwinnable," Bella replied, crossing her arms when she was finished speaking.

"Well," said Beth, sharing a glance with Blood before returning to the instructors, "Let's get started."

The paired off as Beth had assumed, with Sanna taking Beth to the stage on the left while Bella and Blood occupied the stage on the right. When they were on the stage, a massive greatsword appeared in Sanna's right hand from nowhere, the woman clearly possessing some kind of storage or spatial power or item. Beth took a quick second to check both Sanna and Bella before they began in earnest.

Sanna Sylvan, Level ????, Race ??????, Class ????????

Bella Deathclaw, Level ????, Race ??????, Class ????????

It was the first time Beth had actually encountered someone hiding their information from Identify through some method. She was able to get the women's full names and nothing else, just question marks for their level, race, and class. It didn't necessarily mean that they were overwhelmingly strong, just that they had a skill or ability that was powerful enough to mostly or fully block off a Copper-level identifying skill, even one of a higher tier such as Beth's eyes.

Sanna's blade had started unsheathed when she summoned it, and she now signaled to Beth with it, likely having noticed the younger woman using her skill to check them. Beth drew her own blade, moving into a ready stance before darting forward, Sanna perfectly content to let Beth take the lead. And Beth quickly found out why, as the woman seemed superior in every way, her strength and speed both above Beth's while her skill in swords was definitely superior. It didn't discourage her, however, but instead drove her forward, as here was a new opponent with vast skill and experience that she could use to test herself, to train even further.

They exchanged a furious series of blows, Beth being batted back and aside, overwhelmed by both superior stats as well as skills. Sanna didn't use anything but her blade, no powerful blows or attacks or magic, just her raw skill outclassing Beth by quite a bit. Beth estimated she was facing an Expert, and likely someone with at least a handful of ranks in Expert at that. The only good thing she could tell, whether from going easy on her or not, was that Sanna's STR didn't seem to be all that much higher than hers, which gave her a bit of a chance. She could use this opportunity to push her skills as far as they could go right now, taking advantage of the fact that she pursued a path of two weaponskills.

She started to mix up her attacks after a minute, throwing in punches and kicks as they fought. Sanna responded with a brutal display of skill, content to let Beth fight for a minute, but no longer. She batted aside Beth's blade with a short chop before reversing the motion in an eyeblink and running Beth through, despite her having moved out of the way. Beth was a little surprised, but she had been at this long enough that the blow didn't shock her, hopping back to her feet as the fighting ring reset the damage, already ready for the next round.

Now that Sanna seemed to have her measure a bit, she wasn't holding back, going hard right from the start of every round. Beth's survival time went from a minute-and-a-half down to a few seconds, but she wasn't at all discouraged. Slowly, over the course of the next two hours, Beth's survival rating climbed back up, from ten seconds to fifteen to twenty. She took a break after two hours of basically continuous combat, looking over to see that Blood and Bella were still at it. The two of them both used claw attacks and unarmed to great effect, and Blood was getting a massively valuable experience out of this session. Who knows, they might even surprise Baelvyr and come back with Blood having advanced into Journeyman in Unarmed. With the dedication she was showing in this stage, it might well be possible.

Beth only stopped for ten minutes, resting and drinking plenty of water. She didn't bother talking with Sanna as the woman didn't seem open to speaking, and it would have been an overall waste of breath and time. As soon as Beth was up to it, they were back in the ring, hurling themselves at each other over and over. Well, it was Beth that was doing most of the hurling, figurative and literal, but Sanna made no comment about it either way.

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Beth was starting to combine various attacks in a more fluid manner, not just adding punches and kicks to her sequences, but also doing it more smoothly. She would have her hand off her blade at the exact instant it had hit or been deflected, striking out with a punch while she was recovering or redirecting her swing. She would slash and thrust with her blade and lash out with a kick as the thrust was deflected. Tightening up her patterns wasn't some instant, massive boost to her damage, but it was a slow buildup of skill and something that would increase her potency in a fight over time. The little things were what could set a great swordsman apart from a merely good one, and Beth was, at times even without realizing it, training up those good habits as she fought and practiced.

Five minutes had seemed like a tall order at the start of the stage, and it still did, with her longest round not yet being a minute, not including round one. Even so, she could feel herself making progress, and the threat of failing the Trial if they weren't able to meet the minimum standard was certainly enough pressure to force them to excel. Sanna seemed tireless, able to go at full strength time after time, no matter how long they fought or how hard Beth attacked, and she had a suspicion the winged woman was sandbagging more than a little, likely actually far beyond Beth in terms of power and skill but either limiting herself or being limited to an extent by the stage.

The hours wore on, with Beth and Blood stopping at different times until near the end of the first day, when they took a rest together. They needed a longer rest here, as they had both really pushed their bodies and even their minds to the limit. Beth was thrilled, however, as her Swords weaponskill had improved after remaining stagnant for a time. She was also surviving for almost two minutes now, making great progress towards the minimum to pass the stage. This stage was obviously more difficult than anything they had faced so far, as they had used up half their time just to get to not quite halfway where they needed to be. Beth was unsure how the difficulty was determined, but she felt that if her skills were better, the challenge might not have been quite as steep. She would never say that though as, if Baelvyr ever heard it, he would never stop telling her 'I told you so.'

They continued with their battles after a little over two hours rest, the two instructors not seeming to need sleep. Beth was pretty sure that they were just simulacrum, incredibly detailed ones, but she never really knew with such things to the point of being one hundred percent certain. It was a bit of a moot point either way, as them being real or just images copying the real thing didn't effect the overall challenge in a meaningful way. It was all just idle speculation, something that ran through her head as they were starting the second day of fighting.

The day progressed smoothly overall, but Beth did need to take longer and longer breaks as time dragged on. She was glad for all the time she had spent training for hours on end up to this point, as it really allowed her to cope with the exhaustion much better than she would have been able to deal with when starting to tire even a year ago. She also still hadn't used her Presence and, quite frankly, she didn't want to, as she wanted to be able to hit the time based on skill and it still felt a little like her Presence was a bit of a cheat.

At least, that was until Sanna pointed it out, asking why Beth hadn't bothered to use it at all. Beth responded that she was trying to win without out, earning a scoff from Sanna and a stern lecture on using all the tools at her disposal. When she then pointed out the stamina drain and how she didn't want to be forced to sleep away the time until she failed the stage, she earned more scoffing and another lecture on the "proper" use of Presences in battle. Considering Beth had only read the brief general knowledge packets on the subject along with Blood, this lesson was practically worth its weight in gold.

Apparently, calling on one's Presence could be sped up to be made near-instant through practice, something Beth took note of to work on later, and it didn't have to be used for long. Beth had roughly known that, but calling it forth and using it for a handful of seconds before dismissing it was considered a valid strategy at lower rebirths. Through both use and the continued growth and improvement of one's body and mind, the drain of a Presence would lessen without its power being diminished, but this was something years if not decades down the line for Beth. Sanna was talking about being at the Ascended level, and not just right as one hit twenty rebirths either, but even further down the path of being a Wayfarer than that, before one could maintain their Presence at full power for large stretches of time without damaging themself.

After the lecture, Beth put what she had just been taught into practice; not that she could make her Presence appear instantly, but she could try to use it briefly and then dismiss it. That seemed to work decently well, though her one second activation time was a bit of a problem, as she had to create some kind of opening that would allow her that one second. Sanna again chimed in, pointing out both that Beth doing something dramatic to open up space was a clue she was about to use something big, like activating her Presence, as well as the fact that it could become a pattern and even a flaw in her fighting technique if she wasn't careful. Beth took the advice to heart, working to improve the timing of when she called on her Presence and how she incorporated that into the battle itself.

The limited use of her Presence was a real game changer, as Sanna didn't bother to call on hers, something Beth had been worried about. The extra strength, speed, fine motor control, and boost to her senses saw Beth increasing the round time by leaps and bounds. She wasn't able to push up to five minutes before having to take a somewhat long break at midday, but she was over four minutes at that point, and success was within her grasp. She also spent some time watching Blood fight before the latter joined her for a rest, seeing that the wolfish woman had improved immensely herself, to the point where it seemed they would both clear the requirements for the stage, even though only Beth needed to hit that bar.

"Stop," commanded Sanna in the early afternoon. Beth was over four minutes a round at that point and would likely beat the stage soon.

"You need a break?" Beth asked, a little surprised considering the other woman seemed unflappable.

"No," Sanna replied coolly. "I wanted to point something out."

"Okay…" Beth replied, a little confused.

"I have noticed that you are just beginning to develop your own style," Sanna said. "I have observed that you are watching how I wield my blade as well. I must caution you; observe others to learn from them, but do not simply ape what you see others do. You will never reach the peak, nor surpass it to walk your own Path if you simply copy what you see. Learn how others fight, learn how to wield the sword, and then wield it as you see fit."

"Thank you," Beth replied. "For the advice, and for the lesson."

"Come," Sanna commanded. "You are close. Do not falter now."

They resumed their battles, Beth actually doing worse for a few rounds as she felt out her own methods of swinging her sword as well as the best way to incorporate her varied techniques into a unified style. She didn't stay at that pace for long, however, as she started driving forward even harder, giving Sanna less time to react and fewer options in how to deal with Beth's onslaught. It was less than two hours later when she crossed the line, not just holding out for five minutes, but pushing Sanna back for nearly seven. Beth still wound up taking a fatal blow at the end, but her performance was in stark contrast compared to how she had been thoroughly outclassed starting from her second attempt and continuing on during the first day.

The stage didn't end immediately, and Beth took a short break to watch Blood. The battle on the other training stage was far more frenetic than what Beth had been engaged in, with the two lupine women trading slashes and sweeping, tearing kicks at a breakneck pace. Blood more than held her own for the first several minutes, but she started to get overwhelmed by the three-minute mark and couldn't really last until four. Beth watched for a short bit longer, but she wasn't going to watch for the rest of the day. They still had hours they could use for the stage, and Beth had an incredibly skilled trainer willing to personally train her standing right there; of course, she was going to take advantage of the situation.

Just before the stage would have regularly ended, Blood got across the line. She had a feeling Bella had been holding back even more than Sanna had against Beth, but she didn't really mind nor care, as it had allowed her to dramatically grow her skills in just two days. It was like the best sort of crash course in the most optimal amount of time, and she had taken advantage of every second of it.

Just as they were about to return to the array room, Sanna gave them a quick salute, while Bella reached forward and ruffled Blood's hair. That was the last image of them the two girls had, and Beth became determined to look up the two women later, once they were done with the Trial. And speaking of the Trial, they decided to move on directly to the next stage, as they had only a short time before they would be tapping into their remaining six days of extra rest, and Beth didn't feel like they needed that quite yet.